A few months ago I was grabbing lunch at Cava Grill and made myself an Arnold Palmer with their lavender lemonade and their iced black tea. It was refreshing, bright, and not too sweet – a perfect summer drink.

Lavender can be a tricky ingredient. It’s used freely in soaps and other bath products, but needs to be a bit restrained in a drink or food item. The lavender is just hinted at here, not overpowering but just fragrant enough. The cold brewed tea has no hint of bitterness (also, you don’t need to turn on the stove!), and the lemon adds a nice brightness.

Macerating the lemon rinds in lavender sugar extracts a lot of lemon flavor as well. Instead of diluting the lemon with water, it’s mixed directly with the black tea so it’s not watered down at all.

Pour this into a glass full of ice and garnish it with a sprig of lavender flowers. Everyone stay cool out there.

Pour 1 liter (4 cups) of water in a pitcher and drop in the tea bags. Let it refrigerate for five hours.

Meanwhile, halve and squeeze the lemons until you have ½ cup of lemon juice (reserve the rinds). Store the juice in the fridge.

In a bowl, rub the lavender into the sugar until the sugar is fragrant.

Cut up the lemon rinds into 1-inch chunks and put into a large nonreactive bowl and add the sugar. Cover and store it in the fridge for at least three hours (and up to 12), stirring every hour until the sugar is dissolved.

When the tea has finished brewing remove the tea bags and prepare the lemonade concentrate. Pour the lemon juice over the lemon rinds and stir until well mixed. Strain the mixture and add to the tea.

Mix well and serve in an ice-filled glass.

NOTES

Make sure you know the source of your lavender flowers. You want to make sure that they've been grown for consumption.

Hello there! My name is Sonja and I love food. I’m food obsessed, actually. I moved back to the US last year after living in Seoul, Korea for five years. I hope to share what I’ve learned about good eating from my time in Korea and traveling Asia. I focus on recipes that are influenced by my Korean heritage and experience as an expat in Seoul which inspired cooking recipes from home, as well as the ever changing food scene in DC and Virginia.